DAY 195 OF THE WAR: Sanctions on Iran, Hostages Day 195, Antisemitism in US, Columbia Univ. in the Center of the Storm

Tel Aviv Diary, April 19, 2024

ZOOM Briefing Sunday at 6 PM Israel Time, 4 PM London, 11 AM EST

The United States announced its plan to impose sanctions against all entities associated with Iran’s drone and missile programs, as well as Iran’s metal and car industries. Leaving aside my reservations about the effectiveness of such targeted sanctions—even with the involvement of the rest of the G7—these measures should have been implemented the moment Iran began providing drones to Russia for use against Ukraine. Meanwhile, there is a growing sense that Israel has opted for a very restrained response to the Iranian attack in exchange for further diplomatic and other forms of support.

There is a clear realization that a war with Iran would effectively end any prospect of further accomplishments in Gaza, including freeing the hostages. There is also a broad consensus that going to war with Iran without the United States would be a very poor plan. Furthermore, no President, especially six months before elections, would choose to risk a war with Iran that could lead to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and potentially cause the price of oil to soar to $200 a barrel.

Israel has various means of retaliating against Iran that, hopefully, will not escalate into war. The timing of when Israel might act remains an open question, but maintaining an element of surprise by keeping the Iranians guessing could be advantageous. Tonight, the United States used its veto to block the Palestinian bid for full membership in the United Nations.

HOSTAGES, 195 DAYS AND COUNTING …

Tonight, a rally was held in front of Hostage Square outside Tel Aviv’s Art Museum. It was called “a unity rally for the hostages and for the soldiers fighting.” The gathering attracted a slightly different demographic than the weekly Saturday night rallies organized solely by the families of the hostages. This evening, there were numerous Orthodox individuals in the crowd, and one of the first speakers was Rabbi David Lau, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Lau gave such a rousing speech that my wife turned to me and asked — “Where has THIS rabbi been for the last six months.”

While there was a strong sense of solidarity among everyone on the street, the event was ultimately very depressing. Here we are, more than six months since October 7th, six months since I interviewed the first father and husband of hostages. While his immediate family was released, the likelihood of any more hostages coming home alive seems incredibly slim. Whether, as many claim, the negotiations to secure the release of the hostages have been hampered by Netanyahu’s delays or because Hamas sees no reason to release them, the sad reality remains unchanged. We have failed them. The only way we are going to see any hostages returned is to claim victory—which will be a false claim—and entirely withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the hostages. Whether that would be the right move or not, I am not sure, but it is clear that Netanyahu could not undertake such a move without risking the nearly certain collapse of his government.

GAZA

Israeli troops pulled out of the area in central Gaza, where they had been operating for the past few days. Meanwhile, a rocket was launched from Gaza at the communities surrounding Gaza, and another rocket was fired at Ashkelon. The Iron Dome intercepted the first, while the second fell into an open field. Both rockets were fired from Northern Gaza.

ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS IN THE US

The ADL released a report today showing a 140% increase in antisemitic incidents in the US compared to last year. There was a 237% increase in incidents at Jewish institutions, a 321% increase in incidents on campuses, and a 1000% increase in bombing incidents over the same period of time.

The ADL report reflects what has been observed on college campuses. Yesterday, the President of Columbia testified before Congress. Although she performed better than her predecessors, ultimately, she was not able to alter the situation on the campus. The Middle East Institution at Columbia has held an anti-Israel stance since the mid-1980s, and its position has increasingly worsened over the years. However, there has been a dramatic turn of events at Columbia in the past few hours—as I have been writing this update.

Since yesterday, a large group of pro-Hamas students have occupied the South Lawn of Columbia’s Morningside Heights Campus (a central green space in the middle of the campus). The students were warned last night to disperse and leave. Barnard and Columbia informed them they would be suspended if they did not leave the space. Early this afternoon (New York/EST), Barnard began emailing some of their students they identified at the protest, informing them they were being suspended (including the daughter of Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar).

This afternoon, in an unprecedented move, the President of Columbia requested that the police enter the campus and clear the quad. The police arrived and made arrests. Columbia also announced that any students who participated in the protest on the South Lawn would be suspended. The pro-Hamas groups have overstepped. Columbia is one of many places where pushback is finally happening. Despite the arrests, the protests continued, as you can see in this video from 4:30 PM.

Yesterday, Google fired 28 employees for participating in sit-ins at its offices in New York and Sunnyvale.

Beyond attracting media attention, it is not clear what these disruptive demonstrators hope to achieve. Particularly this week, following the Iranian attack on Israel, their actions—which have included blocking bridges, highways, and entrances to airports in locations that have little or no connection to Israel—are unlikely to garner new support.

BUSINESS

Greeneye Technology, which developed technology that reduces the amount of pesticide spraying, has raised $20 million in a Series-A round. This funding brings the total capital raised by the company to $45 million. The round was led by Deep Insight, along with existing investors JVP, Syngenta Group Ventures, Orbia Ventures, one of the leading companies in agricultural machinery, FBN, and Eyal Waldman, former CEO and founder of Mellanox (now part of Nvidia). Other notable new investors include Iron Nation. During the next phase of expansion, dozens of new systems will be deployed this year in agricultural fields, focusing on 800 million acres of corn, soybeans, and cotton grown in the USA. As part of the fundraising, Barak Ben-Eliezer, a managing partner at Deep Insight, will join the company’s board of directors.

In a significant move within Israel’s cybersecurity sector, Armis Security, an Israeli firm, has announced its acquisition of the Israeli startup Silk Security for $150 million. Silk developed a platform that enables security managers to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities and accordingly facilitate their remediation. Armis will integrate Silk’s solution into its platform. Silk was founded in 2022 by Yoav Nathaniel (CEO), Or Priel (CPO), and Bar Katz (CTO). The company raised $12.5 million, with investors including Insight Partners, Crowdstrike Falcon Fund, and Hetz Ventures.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

Arms from France

The Czech arms deal with Egypt created near panic within Israel. In the aftermath of the War of Independence, Israel found it very difficult to procure arms. The United States was unwilling to end its arms embargo on the Middle East. However, as long as the Arab states were also unable to buy arms, the situation was not considered an emergency. After it became apparent that the US was unwilling to alter its policy, Israel turned to France for assistance. While Israel had been able to procure some arms through private dealers in France, it also needed tanks and planes, neither of which were available through private channels.

At the time, Shimon Peres, who was the Director General of the Defense Ministry, became the point person for developing these connections. He was able to meet sympathetic French officials, including the Prime Minister. However, the political instability in France, characterized by frequent changes in government, complicated the process of reaching agreements. Despite these challenges, Peres was indefatigable and successfully negotiated to purchase Mystere II jets. However, the Israeli Air Force determined that the aircraft did not meet their needs upon evaluation. Fortunately, the manufacturer, Marcel Dassault, was building a new plane, the Mystere Mark IV, which was a superior fighter jet and could carry a minimal bomb load. Regrettably, NATO had ordered the fighters, but it was initially unwilling to give up the planes it had ordered.

Peres continued to push and develop relations across the French political spectrum. In early 1956, Guy Mollet became Prime Minister. He invited an Israeli delegation led by Peres to Paris. Upon their arrival at his official residence for dinner, Mollet warmly extended his hand, smiled, and stated, ‘Now you will see I will not be a Bevin.’ True to his word, soon all of official France opened up to Israel. In March 1956, the first Mystere Mark IVs landed at an airbase in Israel. For the next 12 years, France became the primary supplier for most of Israel’s defense needs.